Jail no one simply because he is poor

Rabbi Miriam Terlinchamp of Temple Sholom Cincinnati is a member of The Enquirer Board of Contributors.

Once you hear the buzz and slam of the second entry door as it closes behind you, the sound in the Hamilton County Jail is much quieter than one might imagine. Under the unforgiving fluorescent lights, the hallways are clean and all appears in order. It is only when sitting in front of the incarcerated men, joining them in conversation, that the calamitous expectations of jail life emerge.

In the South tower, many of the men are housed in pods with two-person cells lining the top and bottom rows of the unit that surrounds a common area. Floors the same brightness as the ceiling and shiny metal benches serve as a living room area for the men to pass their seemingly interminable time. I imagine, though not ideal, this structure sufficiently works to serve it’s purpose when it operates the way it was intended. However, now men line the common area sleeping on the floor, against the walls, and on the metal benches without mats or blankets. The penetrating lights stay on and those who are lucky enough to have bunks are confined to their cells for much of the day. This is what overcrowding looks like: human beings confined like animals.

The Hamilton County Justice Center in downtown Cincinnati. The average daily inmate population is 1,424, according to their web site. It's under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff's office. It was built in 1985 at a cost of $54,000.000.
(Photo: The Enquirer/ Liz Dufour)

Naturally, packed in against one another with limited physical comfort, the men are querulous, which adds to the energy of the jail. Putting pressure on those who work inside to keep peace in a place where tranquility is nearly impossible to come by. The truth is, everyone in Hamilton County Jail is incarcerated for a reason. Yet, the goal of incarceration, whether it is repentance, retribution or hope for rehabilitation, is unclear.

Treating people inhumanely does nothing to serve society. In fact, we are less safe when we treat people terribly. Much of the incarcerated population in our jails are people who struggle with drug abuse or expressions of untreated mental illness. Then, we lock them up. Expose them to more trauma. Treat them like animals. After all of that, we hope for some sort of healing once they are released. This is total insanity! We are ramping up their trauma, doubling down on their brokenness and then releasing them back out to the community. This does not make us safer.

Those who commit crimes must answer for the harm that they cause. Yet, locking up someone in a box, forcing them to sleep on a hard floor, forgetting a person’s humanity, this is not accountability for crimes. In fact, it is just the opposite. No one is answering for any debt by being locked up in this way. Our community is safer if we treat one another as fellow human beings.

I believe that our justice system is working exactly the way it was designed, but our system is failing us profoundly. For non-violent crimes, once a person is charged, bail is set and either it is paid or they remain in jail until their trial. If you have the money, you will not stay in jail. However, if you are poor, you may stay in jail and then be found not guilty. The same charges for the two men only allow the wealthier person to go free.

There are people serving months in jail because they cannot pay the $500 bond. There are people who may receive probation, with no time inside required, but must wait out their hearings because they do not have the requisite money to pay their bail. Hamilton County wastes an untold amount of money keeping people in jail who are only there because they do not have enough the money.

Overcrowding in our jail right now has nothing to do with a rise in crime. We are pushed so far beyond capacity because we have a bail affordability problem. Gov. John Kasich recently approved the state budget, and in it there is a mandatory provision called TCAP (targeted community alternatives to prison), also known as Senate Bill 66, for those convicted of the lowest degree felonies with terms less than 18 months to serve. For every day that a person is not sent to prison, but rather, deferred to a treatment facility or to jail, the county will receive $33. The county commissioners will determine how that money will be spent.

On one hand, this is great news! Hamilton County has been operating on this premise for some time, and now, our county will receive revenue from this practice. Yet, at the same time, we are scared. It costs $77 per day to keep someone in jail, so the $33 doesn’t cover the expense of deferring prison. And, what are we going to do about the already overcrowded jails?

Our collective communal response must be “exactly!” We do not need more jails or bigger spaces. We need to stop sending people who should be on probation to jail. We must call on our humanity, and look for a safer, more dignified approach.

Toledo and Cleveland have paved the way for Cincinnati. Both have undergone major bail reform and are parsimonious about who they hold before trial. Instead of finances determining whether someone fills a spot in the jail, the courts always use a risk assessment tool. Judges are able to screen people for risks such as the likelihood of flight, committing a new offense and/or committing a new violent offense. The discretion around incarceration is not determined by money, but rather, by risk. Hamilton County often uses this risk assessment tool as well. Yet, many judges still choose to use the financial model and continue the cycle of overcrowding that results from poverty.

Coming off of a week where we celebrated our nation's freedom, we are called upon to think about the humanity of those who are not free right now. No one should be in jail because they are poor. Our justice system must apply equally to each person regardless of financial ability. We must ensure that our public dollars go towards the safety of our community rather than treating human beings inhumanely.